The Pinch Test

Pikefireman
Pikefireman Posts: 11 Member
edited October 1 in Fitness and Exercise
I am at a loss. Every year I have to do a physical fitness evaluation for my job. Every year they do the pinch test to test for body fat %. I have never trusted this test as it is done with antique equipment by minimally trained people. However, it has always provided me with a basis for comparison. What confuses me it that I have lost weight since last year and the measurement of my abdominal area actually went up. Maybe somebody out there can shed some light on this. Last year I weighed in at 200 lbs and measured Pec Tri 15, Abd Sup 22, and Thigh 23. This year I weighed in at 174 and measured Pec Tri 13 Abd Sup 26 and Thigh 13. How can my weight go down, measurements go down on upper and lower body but go up on abdominal? I understand there is a margin of error here but it doesn't make any sense to me. Thanks for listening.

Replies

  • Javajunkie67
    Javajunkie67 Posts: 167 Member
    Your third sentence says it all. Is there a chance it should be 16?
  • kimbux
    kimbux Posts: 154 Member
    I would not put too much stock info those readings... especially if you said the equipment is old and the people are minimally trained to use the equipment. Your best gauge is the way your clothes fit - are they fitting better than last year? Keep up the great work on the weight loss :)
  • Pikefireman
    Pikefireman Posts: 11 Member
    Your third sentence says it all. Is there a chance it should be 16?

    Ha! There is a chance it could be 16. Considering it could be a "typo" never crossed my mind. Thanks.
  • Pikefireman
    Pikefireman Posts: 11 Member
    I would not put too much stock info those readings... especially if you said the equipment is old and the people are minimally trained to use the equipment. Your best gauge is the way your clothes fit - are they fitting better than last year? Keep up the great work on the weight loss :)

    Thanks. My clothes don't fit anymore at all. They are too big. :tongue:
  • brcwalsh
    brcwalsh Posts: 1
    I wouldn't put much stock in that test. I agree, it's how your clothes fit and how you feel. Would you have thought one year ago that you would be where you are now? Just think where you will be next year. Great job!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,961 Member
    Many don't know how to actually to correctly pinch and test. And even just a half inch off of where original test was done would change the numbers.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    It could very likely be human error like others are suggesting. Not to alarm, but it may also be loss of lean muscle. What has your diet and routine been like? If you were not doing any strength training and/or eating with too large of a calorie deficit for long enough, then you may have certainly lost more muscle than fat. I believe this happened to me when I took about a year off of exercise... I got all "soft".
  • Pikefireman
    Pikefireman Posts: 11 Member
    If you were not doing any strength training and/or eating with too large of a calorie deficit for long enough, then you may have certainly lost more muscle than fat.

    This could explain why the abdominal went up but legs went way down. I have slacked off on strength training and focused on running and bicycling (my favorites). So maybe loss of muscle in middle and gain at legs.
  • Pikefireman
    Pikefireman Posts: 11 Member
    I wouldn't put much stock in that test. I agree, it's how your clothes fit and how you feel. Would you have thought one year ago that you would be where you are now? Just think where you will be next year. Great job!

    True that. Thanks
  • Pikefireman
    Pikefireman Posts: 11 Member
    Many don't know how to actually to correctly pinch and test. And even just a half inch off of where original test was done would change the numbers.

    Funny you say that. I would swear one year they would pinch vertically and the next horizontally on the abdomen but always the same on chest and legs. Could easily explain it.
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